“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also . . .” proclaims Jesus (John 14.12, NASB). As I said yesterday these words are startling; they should arrest our attention. Why? Because this not the way most people think about faith. Many people talk about faith as if it’s only some sort of private and personal commitment. Many assume faith is relegated exclusively to the soul or spirit but has little to do with our public life. Many of our metaphors we employ in the church suggest that the only way to experience salvation is to be rescued from this world and have our spirits whisked away to some sort of spiritual existence far from anything we currently know. This language unintentionally drives wedges between faith and works, behavior and belief, soul and body, spirit and matter. Naturally, in such a worldview as this, many conclude faith is just a private, spiritual commitment that guarantees some sort of existence for the afterlife.
Jesus thinks differently as this verse suggests. He’s apart of a great tradition, a very worldly religious perspective that reaches back into the Old Testament. Think about it: in the Exodus, God liberates people to be a new nation that embraces the politics of liberation; they are to embrace--as I read it through the life of Jesus--a politics of compassion and justice. In the same vein the prophets teach us that this is the way to interpret the Law. The prophets call the people of God to embrace a compassionate justice and a righteousness defined by neighborly care. Jesus is part of this great tradition. He talks about God’s coming kingdom, a kingdom that is breaking into history. (If you’re struggling with the word Kingdom, think dream. God has a dream to reclaim all of creation with his light and love. The dream starts with Abraham and ends with a new heaven and new earth so beautifully depicted in Revelation). So he calls us to repent, which does not necessarily mean go to an altar, feel real bad, and receive forgiveness so that you can go about your own business. Repent means to turn around; change your mind in light of this new reality—God’s coming kingdom. This is Jesus’ approach to faith. That’s why he can say without apology or without explanation, the one who believes in me will keep doing what I have been doing. He can say that because he doesn’t want to drive wedges between faith and works, between belief and behavior, between heaven and earth. They can’t be separated. To believe is to embrace a new way of living. To have faith is follow the Christ. Salvation is not an escape from this world but a call to participate in the dream that God is dreaming for this world. As N.T. Wright is fond of pointing out, Christianity doesn’t envision a divorce between heaven and earth but a marriage between the two. Christ-followers participate in this marriage now, giving witness to what God wants to accomplish. In other words, we are now a part of the great story of redemption: God has loved the world through Israel’s messiah—Jesus; Jesus has now ascended to the father, where he intercedes for us; the Spirit is now empowering us to live and love like Jesus. Peace!
2 comments:
Hi Pastor David,
Thanks for your very thoughtful article! I think I totally agree with your view of faith and works. The comment, "to believe is to embrace a new way of living" is a great understanding of Jesus' teachings. The question becomes, "what does that new way of living look like for us as we live in this post-modern world?" While we do not want to avdocate an individualized faith (just Jesus and me on the Jericho road) our faith does have to be personal doesn't it? Maybe we need to struggle with the question of how each of us personally fits into God's dream for others. That would be a good struggle, but it is easier to sit on the couch and feel good about myself.
I have been wrestling with all of those issues myself. Faith is personal in the sense that one has to fully appropriate what God's transforming grace, but it is not private. It will have implications in our public life.
And we should talk about what this might look like. We should talk about the means by which someone grows in their understanding of God and what it means to be a Christ-follower. And we should explore what forms this will take in our world. However, as we explore the practical implications of our faith, we must acknowledge that it will take on a unique variety. Some will celebrate God's truth and grace in art, others through evangelism, others through family, others through politics, still others through compassionate ministry. In each case, glimmers of Christ's beauty will shine through. Take care, my friend. Peace!
Post a Comment